Haley was born William John Clifton Haley (some sources append "Junior" to … Read Full Bio ↴Haley was born William John Clifton Haley (some sources append "Junior" to his name, but his eldest son states that this is erroneous) in Highland Park, Michigan and raised in Pennsylvania. Many sources (almost universally predating his death in 1981) state that Haley was born in 1927, which is due to Haley knocking two years off his age for publicity purposes in the 1950s. A few recent sources erroneously give a birth year of 1924.
Haley was blinded in his left eye as a child due to a botched operation. According to biographer John Swenson, Haley later adopted his distinctive spit-curl hairstyle to distract attention from his blind eye. The spit-curl caught on as a 50's style signature, although Haley and others had worn the hairstyle much earlier.
In 1946, Haley joined his first professional group, a Pennsylvania-based western swing band called The Down Homers run by Kenny Roberts. It has often been reported in musical reference works that Haley's first professional recordings were made with the Down Homers on a pair of singles released in 1946 by Vogue Records. This was later debunked by Roberts and others, stating Haley had already left the group by the time the singles were made. In the early 2000s, however, a set of 1946 radio recordings by the Down Homers were discovered and Haley is definitely present as he is identified by name and sings a solo number "She Taught Me to Yodel"; these recordings were commercially released for the first time in 2006.
After gaining experience with the Down Homers, Haley set out on his own, forming several groups such as the Range Drifters and the Four Aces of Western Swing. With the Four Aces, he made a number of regionally successful country music singles in the late 1940s for Cowboy Records while working as a touring musician and later a radio DJ at WPWA. (Many of Haley's early recordings from this period would not be released until after his death.) After disbanding the Four Aces and briefly trying a solo career using the names Jack Haley and Johnny Clifton (as chronicled in the biography Sound and Glory), Haley formed a new group called The Saddlemen in either 1949 or 1950 (sources vary as to the exact year); this new group recorded for several labels, including one single for Atlantic Records, Haley's first exposure to a major national record company. In 1951, Haley was signed to Dave Miller's Philadelphia-based Holiday Records and began to change musical styles, recording cover versions of "Rocket "88"" (previously recorded by Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats), and in, 1952, "Rock the Joint", previously recorded by several bands including Jimmy Preston and His Prestonians. (By the time of "Rock the Joint", Haley had graduated from Holiday Records to Miller's larger Essex label.) The relative success of these recordings (both sold in the 75,000-100,000 copy range in the Pennsylvania-New England region) convinced Haley that his new and as-yet officially unnamed hybrid of country and rhythm and blues could be a commercial success.and some of his family lives in oklahoma and there is a road named after his family.
Haley was blinded in his left eye as a child due to a botched operation. According to biographer John Swenson, Haley later adopted his distinctive spit-curl hairstyle to distract attention from his blind eye. The spit-curl caught on as a 50's style signature, although Haley and others had worn the hairstyle much earlier.
In 1946, Haley joined his first professional group, a Pennsylvania-based western swing band called The Down Homers run by Kenny Roberts. It has often been reported in musical reference works that Haley's first professional recordings were made with the Down Homers on a pair of singles released in 1946 by Vogue Records. This was later debunked by Roberts and others, stating Haley had already left the group by the time the singles were made. In the early 2000s, however, a set of 1946 radio recordings by the Down Homers were discovered and Haley is definitely present as he is identified by name and sings a solo number "She Taught Me to Yodel"; these recordings were commercially released for the first time in 2006.
After gaining experience with the Down Homers, Haley set out on his own, forming several groups such as the Range Drifters and the Four Aces of Western Swing. With the Four Aces, he made a number of regionally successful country music singles in the late 1940s for Cowboy Records while working as a touring musician and later a radio DJ at WPWA. (Many of Haley's early recordings from this period would not be released until after his death.) After disbanding the Four Aces and briefly trying a solo career using the names Jack Haley and Johnny Clifton (as chronicled in the biography Sound and Glory), Haley formed a new group called The Saddlemen in either 1949 or 1950 (sources vary as to the exact year); this new group recorded for several labels, including one single for Atlantic Records, Haley's first exposure to a major national record company. In 1951, Haley was signed to Dave Miller's Philadelphia-based Holiday Records and began to change musical styles, recording cover versions of "Rocket "88"" (previously recorded by Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats), and in, 1952, "Rock the Joint", previously recorded by several bands including Jimmy Preston and His Prestonians. (By the time of "Rock the Joint", Haley had graduated from Holiday Records to Miller's larger Essex label.) The relative success of these recordings (both sold in the 75,000-100,000 copy range in the Pennsylvania-New England region) convinced Haley that his new and as-yet officially unnamed hybrid of country and rhythm and blues could be a commercial success.and some of his family lives in oklahoma and there is a road named after his family.
When the Saints Go Rock 'n' Roll
Bill Haley Lyrics
Well, rock 'n rollin' holiday
Rock 'n rollin all the way
Rock 'n rollin' to the end
'Till the saints go marchin' in
Now when the saints go marchin' in
Well, when the saints go marchin' in
Yeah, Lord, I want want'a be in that number
When the saints go marchin' in
Well, now when Nick, comes wailin' in
Yeah, when old Nick comes wailin' in
Oh, Lord, I want want'a be in that number
When that guitar comes wailin' in
Well, now when Rudy begins to blow
Well, when old are you-Dy starts to wail
Yeah, Lord, I want want'a be in that number
When that sax man starts wailin' in
(Here we go now)
Well, when that rhythm comes wailin' in
Yeah, when old Rapper starts to wail
Well, Lord, I want want'a be in that number
When old Rapper comes wailin' in
Now when the band plays rock 'n roll
Well, when the Comets rock 'n roll
Yeah, Lord, I want want'a be in that number
When the Comets play rock 'n roll
(All together now)
When the saints go marchin' in
Rock 'n rollin all the way
Rock 'n rollin' to the end
'Till the saints go marchin' in
Now when the saints go marchin' in
Well, when the saints go marchin' in
Yeah, Lord, I want want'a be in that number
When the saints go marchin' in
Yeah, when old Nick comes wailin' in
Oh, Lord, I want want'a be in that number
When that guitar comes wailin' in
Well, now when Rudy begins to blow
Well, when old are you-Dy starts to wail
Yeah, Lord, I want want'a be in that number
When that sax man starts wailin' in
(Here we go now)
Well, when that rhythm comes wailin' in
Yeah, when old Rapper starts to wail
Well, Lord, I want want'a be in that number
When old Rapper comes wailin' in
Now when the band plays rock 'n roll
Well, when the Comets rock 'n roll
Yeah, Lord, I want want'a be in that number
When the Comets play rock 'n roll
(All together now)
When the saints go marchin' in
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: EVERETT ROBBINS, PORTER GRAINGER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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@Wolfhoundersful
Rock and rolling all the day
Rock and rolling all the way
Rock and rolling to the end
Til' the saints go marching in
Oh, when the saints go marching in
Lord, I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in
Now, when old Frank comes swinging in
When old Franny swinging in
Well, I want to be in that number
When old Franny swinging in
Now, when the sax begins to wail
When old Rudy starts to wail
Well, I want to be in that number
When old Rudy starts to wail
Oh, when the rhythm starts to go
When that rhythm starts to go
Well, I want to be in that number
When that rhythm starts to go
Oh, when the band play rock 'n' roll
When the Comets rock and roll
Well, I want to be in that number
When the Comets rock and roll
@Roger.Coleman1949
My favourite R & R song ever, try keeping your feet still to this !. Recall going with my parents to the Pye Radio Sports & Social Club here in Cambridge ( UK ) and on the stage was a Pye Black Box record player and a pile of Brunswick Bill Haley 78s.I turned DJ for the night , aged 7, with the BB wound up flat out everybody was on the dance floor jiving .I was in seventh heaven - pure nostalgia !
@paulmurray5655
The genius of Bill Haley is that he is the bridge between Big Band and the phenomenon known as rock'n'roll. Rock Around the Clock and Shake, Rattle and Roll aside, this is maybe the best example of this great transition artist. Wow. what a tour de force. Best always. PM
@michaelfuria4257
yes, well stated-Bill nailed it.
@ericseabury3968
Completely agree with you, sir.
@TheRobertpiotr
Żaden geniusz
@LuisLopez-xx2db
For far this song is his major success.
@davidmelton2091
Great version of the song love the saxophone it's one of their greatest songs
@Lanutriatraviesa
That's music for my ears.
@southwriter
Actually, this was recorded in 1956 after Dick, Marshall and Joey left Bill Haley to form The Jodimars. The sax is Rudy Pompilli, the bass is Al Rex.
@adrinathegreat3095
1956 this one spent 6 months in the uk charts making the top 10